Having made it through immigration and customs, I arrived at the main entrance hall of OR Tambo International Airport. There were television camera crews and a crowd gathered. It turns out that the reigning Miss Universe, Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, is from South Africa and on a flight arriving just after mine. I accepted a ‘Welcome Home’ sign from a very thin young woman and waited. 30 members of the Soweto Gospel Choir were on hand, as well as present and past beauty queens from South Africa. Miss Teen South Africa. Miss Petite South Africa. Little Miss South Africa. The folks in the choir were all black. The tiara-wearing beauties were overwhelmingly white and none were black.
Demi-Leigh arrived to cheers and singing. She talked about how her victory was not a personal triumph, but one for all South Africans. She said that she hoped her story would inspire South African girls and boys to realize that their dreams can come true. She also mentioned that she now lives in New York City, another dream of hers. An immigrant to the United States?
No Foreign Lands 